To celebrate the release of Deepwater Horizon, we’re taking a closer look at incredible true story that inspired it.

On 20 April 2010, one of the largest man-made disasters occurred when a huge gas leak sent fireballs ripping through the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

From that tragedy emerged an incredible story of courage and self-sacrifice, which Peter Berg (Lone Survivor) has now turned into an extraordinary big screen drama of epic scale, starring Mark Wahlberg as Mike Williams, the rig’s chief electronics technician and the last person to leave the rig that day.

Over the next few days we’ll be releasing a series of videos that delve into the film, go behind the scenes of the epic production, and tell the real life stories of the people involved.

What really happened on 20 April, 2010

For 87 days millions watched, hearts in mouths, as more than 50,000 barrels of oil gushed from the ocean floor in a disaster that would become the largest accidental ocean oil spill in human history.

The making of the film

Did you know that real oil workers were hired as extras in Deepwater Horizon? Or that they built an 85% scale replica of the Deepwater rig? Our second video takes a look behind the scenes of this epic tale of survival.

The people behind the film

Meet the cast as they describe the intense emotional journey of filming such a monumental story of bravery.

The question

When Deepwater Horizon exploded, chief electronics technician Mike Williams was in a race to save his own life and those of his crewmates – each driven by the hope of making it home. As the world’s largest man made disaster starts to unravel… what would you do?